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A specialist set in clinical negligence and personal injury claims, Parklane Plowden provides ‘a depth of PI knowledge which is hard to match in the North East’. Included among the bench of ‘strong talent’ are: Oliver Longstaff, who takes a ‘highly client-centred approach’; Andrew Axon (‘a sound and sensible lawyer’); Stuart Brown QC (‘a frighteningly intelligent silk with a sharp mind, respected by both claimant and defence solicitors in the field’); the ‘quick, reliable and approachableJonathan Godfrey; Jeremy Freedman, whose reputation in this field is ‘very strong’; Elizabeth Hodgson, who ‘works well in the more complex cases’; Michael Ditchfield; Christopher Williams whose ‘communication skills are second to none’; and James Murphy (‘excellent on his feet’).

Anesh Pema at Zenith Chambers has ‘a wonderful understanding of medical issues’, and Gordon Exall is particularly strong on procedural matters. The ‘extremely thoroughPankaj Madanprovides ‘advocacy of the highest quality’.

St Paul’s Chambers’ Robert Smith is ‘at the top of his game in this field’. Smith provides ‘consistently high-quality advice’, and is ‘lightning at turning papers around’.

Andrew Lewis QC at Sovereign Chambers is very well regarded among peers; he also practises from Manchester-based Byrom Street Chambers. Recent cases include the High Court case Holmes v JMJ and others (a £4m head injury claim), and Boardman v MoD, a liability trial concerning catastrophic head injury to a child.

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Legal Developments in the UK

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  • COUNCIL TAX

    In Harrow LBC v Ayiku [2012] EWHC 1200 (Admin) Sales J held that the word “or” in the Council Tax (Exempt Dwellings) Order 1992, art 3 Class N, had a disjunctive meaning, therefore it was sufficient for the non-British spouse of a foreign student to satisfy one or other of the two conditions, namely being prevented from taking paid employment or being prevented from claiming benefits, in order to qualify as a “relevant person” who was exempted from liability to pay council tax.
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  • QUEEN’S SPEECH

    Bills already introduced pursuant to the Queen’s Speech on 9 May 2012 include Local Government Finance Bill and Electoral Registration and Administration Bill, both accompanied by Explanatory Notes, which in each case address ECHR compatibility.
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  • Standards

    In R (Calver) v Adjudication Panel for Wales [2012] EWHC 1172 (Admin) Mr Calver was a member of Manorbier Community Council who successfully challenged the decision of the Panel to dismiss his appeal against a decision by Prembrokeshire County Council Standards Committee censuring him for a number of comments or blogs posted by him on a website he owned and controlled.
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  • A justified retrospective

    Clive Sheldon - QC debates the pros & cons of retrospective tax legislation
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  • Public Sector Equality Duty (“PSED”)

    In R (Greenwich Community Law Centre) v Greenwich LBC [2012] EWCA Civ 496 the Court of Appeal held that the Council had had “due regard to the PSED when making changes to its funding of community legal advice services”. At para 30 Elias LJ said:
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  • Public Sector Equality Duty

    Surrey County Council conducted a review of its Library Service. This culminated in a Report to the Council’s Cabinet. The Recommendations in the Report included that there should be consultation about a community-partnership approach at selected Libraries.
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  • Judicial Review

    The Judgment of Lindblom J in The Manydown Co Ltd v Basingstoke and Deane BC [2012] EWHC 977 (Admin) repays attention. The Claimant sought to challenge by judicial review 2 decisions of the Council: (1) the Council’s refusal to reconsider its position on the development of a site that it owns (and is the subject matter of a Joint Development Partnership Agreement with the Claimant); and (2) a decision of the Council’s Cabinet approving a selection of sites for development which did not include this site.
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  • The Health and Social Care Act 2012: impact on adult social services

    After its torrid passage through Parliament, the Health and Social Care Bill received Royal Assent on 27 March 2012. The Act deals principally with healthcare reform, but it also contains some amendments to the legislative framework for social care. It will come into force on a day yet to be appointed by the Secretary of State.
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  • Immigration update May 2012

    In this issue:
  • Premium service for tier 2 and 5 sponsors to be launched

    A premium service for sponsors will be launched by the UKBA on 6 April 2012. The service is designed specifically for companies that sponsor international employees under tier 2 and 5 of the points based system and aims to provide them with enhanced support.

Press Releases in the UK

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